MANILA, Philippines — At age 14, Reynaldo de Guzman was the oldest among his 42 fifth grader classmates. And the boy who reportedly dreamed of becoming a policeman acted the part of kuya or big brother.

In Section 7, Neptune class at the Maybunga Elementary School in Pasig City, De Guzman’s desk seat, with his surname scrawled at the back, stands empty between two 11-year-old classmates on the third row.

De Guzman’s adviser Doreen Ty said she relied on the only teenager in Section 7 to act as “class leader” whenever they had activities outside the classroom or when she had to temporarily leave the room.

Upon learning of the boy’s brutal murder, Ty had a sleepless night on Wednesday and was so distraught she decided to skip classes the next day.

Sander Umali, 11, recalled that De Guzman reminded him a few days before he went missing not to join hoodlums hanging out near their school if he wanted to have a good future.

Russel Senangote, 11, echoed Umali’s recollections of De Guzman as a big brother. De Guzman sat between the two boys in their class.

For being a good leader and a big brother to his classmates, Ty said she always gave De Guzman a reward such as food during recess and occasionally some pocket money.

Ty remembered their last conversation before De Guzman went missing on Aug. 17. She had advised him to have his mop of curly hair trimmed, and she promised to give him the school uniform of her child. But she said the boy liked his hair long.

Ty brought the uniform the next day, but De Guzman had gone missing. Seeing news on TV about De Guzman’s gruesome fate, Ty said she seemed to hear his voice crying for help, leaving her sleepless and upset.